Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode

That is what stood out from the Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture show by Duran Lantink, as if calligraphically rendered in this space of mineral-white, where the silhouettes were rendered as a play of volumes, cut-outs and the ‘puffed-up’ effects so dear to the designer.

Report 07.08.2026 From the Musée des Arts Décoratifs to the Palais Galliéra and the Musée Cognacq Jay, two exhibitions are celebrating the 18th century. As Sofia Coppola prepares to mark the 20th anniversary of her cult film, Marie Antoinette, at the Palace of Versailles this autumn, we take a look back at a contemporary and very haute couture obsession. In 1775, the Queen’s household budget stood at 2.2 million livres. It would more than double within ten years.

The emotion is palpable, whether in the kohl-black sheath dresses; the leopard-print designs; the safari jackets or even the striped poplin dresses from the Spring-Summer ’92 collection. Each design conveys a passion, a seductive allure, within the setting designed by Kris Ruhs where panels are painted on sheets with stencilled motifs in a gradient of ochres, sands and earth tones.

Just this once: This year, Françoise Dumas will not be attending the haute couture shows. A first in 40 years. “The Yves Saint Laurent collections were a ritual,” recalls the woman whose book Maîtresse de cérémonie (Grasset, 2022) bears witness to a passion for this profession, for which she invented the codes and conventions, with a client list ranging from royal families and luxury groups – LVMH foremost among them – to museums.

Report 08.07.2026 Avec les Sulfureuses, Kevin Germanier célèbre un nouvel opus, magnifiant les bustes de ses sirènes pour créer des contrastes hauts en couleur, des effets de découpages sur la peau, qui donnent l’impression qu’elle a été brodée, tatouée de bustiers aux formes organiques. Dans un jeu de volumes, la ligne s’électrise au contact de la matière et de ce feu de couleurs dont le créateur suisse a le secret pour embraser son public.

Where do you look for new ideas or voices in fashion? I’m really in love with the Threads fashion community right now, mainly because it’s a great way to see how everyday people and not only “fashion insiders” are thinking about collections and fashion news. Some of the most interesting perspectives right now are coming from people who otherwise would not have a very much visibility in the fashion conversation. In this attention economy, what or who has won over your attention right now?

In a fast-paced society filled where we feel the pull of algorithmic hierarchies, what do you make of the slow processes involved in crafting haute couture? For me, the slow process is precisely what saves couture from becoming content. It’s not meant to be consumed in a 15-second video. It’s meant to be experienced – up close, with your eyes and fingertips, in real life. And that experience is radically personal. It refuses to be categorised. It refuses to be ranked.

Haute Couture has gained widespread popularity due to overcommunication. Do you see this as an advantage or a disadvantage? Haute Couture has a unique role within the fashion ecosystem. It is the highest expression of savoir-faire, creativity and innovation, where fashion becomes art. Its purpose has always been to elevate the brand, create desire and inspire emotion. It sits at the very top of the pyramid, offering something truly aspirational.

In a play on volumes, the silhouette comes alive through the interplay of fabric and that blaze of colour – a secret the Swiss designer uses to set his audience aglow. The entire corset design has been reimagined to infuse traditional lacing with neo-punk touches, featuring fluorescent yellow spikes on pale pink satin for an impromptu encounter between Gen Z’s screens and one iconic image amongst many: Mainbocher’s corset, photographed by Horst in 1939.

⁠In your view, how significant are heritage and identity in contributing to a Maison’s consistency today? Heritage and identity are everything, but only when they are alive. Heritage should not be treated like a museum label or a dusty archive. It is the operating system of a maison. It tells you what the house believes in, what it refuses, what it returns to, and what it can never betray. The strongest maisons today are not the ones repeating the past.